“(Rodriguez’s benching) had nothing to do with anything but what I felt was our best opportunity that day,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I just think he was one of our guys that was struggling, like a lot of our other guys.”

According to a report, the three-time AL MVP has told close friends that he won’t stand in the way of a trade. It would have to be the right situation, however. The veteran will only accept a trade to a big-market team, the report said.

“I just say to him, ‘You’re Alex Rodriguez,'” Bryant said. “‘You’re A-Rod. You’re one of the best to ever do it.’ I think sometimes he kind of forgets that and wants to try to do the right thing all the time.”

“I just have to go out there and pitch, that’s all it boils down to,” Hughes said. “(I can’t) really worry about being down 0-2 or that Verlander is on the mound or that we don’t have our captain. Those sorts of things are going to be wasted energy.”

Jeter reportedly first experienced left ankle issues in early September, and he exacerbated the area with the foul tip in mid-September. He was also said to have injured the same ankle, in a different place, in the last game of the regular season.